23 July, 2012

Who I am


When in doubt about something to blog, my usual solution is to resort to a list.  I saw this idea on another blog, loved it, and so here is my version.

100 things that emphasise who I am, rather than who I am not. 100 things that have nothing to do with infertility.  100 things you might not know about me (and plenty of links so you can learn more than you ever wanted or needed to know!):
 
  1. Wife
  2. Daughter
  3. Sister  (middle child)
  4. Aunt (to 10 nieces and nephews)
  5. Great-aunt (argh!)
  6. Niece and cousin
  7. Daughter-in-law (even if slightly resentful)
  8. Sister-in-law
  9. Friend
  10. Feminist
  11. Mentor
  12. Counsellor (unofficially)
  13. Volunteer
  14. Bereaved cat owner (I miss Cleo and Gershwin)
  15. Cat lover (we’ll get more cats one day)
  16. Farm-girl (well, I was in my childhood)
  17. Blogger
  18. Writer
  19. Reader (literary fiction mainly, but occasionally and shamefully trashy sci-fi or fantasy or chick lit)
  20. Letter-writer (when I get round to it)
  21. Procrastinator
  22. Worrier
  23. Pianist
  24. Flautist (less accomplished than on piano)
  25. Fan of Beethoven
  26. Cook (and pretty good when I pay attention)
  27. Regular exerciser (though not for fun)
  28. An athlete covered by a non-athlete’s body  (where did that come from)
  29. Ice-cream lover (ahh – that explains #28)
  30. Wino (ditto #29)
  31. Lover of good coffee (Wellington coffee can’t be beaten)
  32. One woman crusader against Starbucks
  33. Vegetable lover  (vegetables over fruit)
  34. Sudoku whizz
  35. Cross-worder (at times cryptic)
  36. Kenken beginner
  37. Addicted to the computer
  38. Traveller (45 countries so far)
  39. Allergic to economy class (that’s what I try and tell my husband anyway.  And it's tough when we live so far from the rest of the world!)
  40. Navigator and map-reader (You can’t always trust GPS)
  41. Travel planner (personally, in my own business that I hope to re-launch soon (watch this space), and also for family as a  Christmas gift)
  42. International businessperson
  43. Grammar enthusiast (not an expert though)
  44. Lover of words
  45. Thai speaker (wish I was better)
  46. Mandarin speaker (I’ve forgotten a lot)
  47. School-girl French speaker with unfulfilled dreams of being fluent
  48. Self-taught Spanish speaker
  49. Wannabe other language speaker with smatterings of Japanese and German
  50. New Zealander
  51. Adopted Wellingtonian
  52. Former Thai schoolgirl and AFS Exchange Student
  53. Former resident of Bangkok (my second home)
  54. Diplomat (formerly by title, always  - !!! -  by nature)
  55. Self-employed (closer to unemployed)
  56. Company director
  57. International Marketing Consultant
  58. Strong leader (according to the staff at my company)
  59. Follower of the VPMS - volcano paper management system
  60. Teacher
  61. Post-grad educated
  62. Intelligent
  63. Possessor of common-sense (I’m not delusional; two of my bosses have confirmed this)
  64. Good listener (I hope)
  65. Empathetic
  66. Patient
  67. Impatient (with the in-laws, and my mother, and people with bad grammar)
  68. Cynical
  69. Loyal
  70. Tall
  71. Green-eyed
  72. Pale-skinned
  73. Freckled
  74. Wavy-haired
  75. Prematurely grey under the natural brown
  76. Trying to lose weight
  77. Very right-handed
  78. A little bit shy
  79. Telephone-detester
  80. Internet-lover
  81. iPad fan
  82. Low in Vitamin D
  83. Scared of heights
  84. Slightly claustrophobic
  85. Crier at sadmovies/moving moments/victory ceremonies/soppy ads, etc
  86. Amateur photographer
  87. Photo-book addict
  88. Maker of cards
  89. Lover of architecture
  90. Wannabe interior decorator
  91. Peri-menopausal
  92. Sufferer of trigeminal neuralgia
  93. Hater of mornings (yet lover of sunrises)
  94. Filled with still unfulfilled potential
  95. Nervous of earthquakes
  96. Wearing leopard print slippers
  97. Suffering from a cold
  98. Pretty happy
  99. A lover of lists
  100. Not actually called Mali

18 comments:

  1. Hey, I hate mornings, too! I'm more of an evening person. :-D Anyway, LOVE reading your list! :-D

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  2. I think I'm going to steal this, but I'm not sure if I can get to 100!

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  3. Mali isn't your real name?! :) Love your list. I'm a pianist, too, but not very good.

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  4. I love lists, too! And I love your list, may I steal the idea some time?

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    1. Of course. After all, I stole it too!

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  5. I am going to steal this idea from you as well and maybe do it in a future blog...I am so caught up in the fact that I am not and never will be a mom. It's time to start focusing on what I am. Thank you for bringing this to my attention!!

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  6. Love it! Love the transition from roles to adjectives to 'wearer of slippers'.

    Allergic to economy class - me too. never known any different though. And whats the deal with Starbucks? (multinational latte shite in a city full of trained baristas and damn fine beans?)

    Some of these points are basises (bases?) for more blog posts!

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    1. Perhaps our economy class allergy has something to do with living at the ends of the earth!

      Yes - maybe these will turn into other posts. As you can see from the links, a lot of them have been posts already!

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  7. Love, love, love it...I did one on my blog too.

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  8. Glad to learn a little more about you. I was doing ICLW and someone suggested your blog to me since I am looking for others living childfree. Hope to get to know you better and feel free to come over to my blog sometime too.

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    Replies
    1. I'll pop over and have a look. You're very welcome here.

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  9. Love the list!!! Though, I must say I am Proudly (ok... maybe not proudly. Thank goodness for the anonymity of kindle) a trashy book reader... Love me a good romance... have a phd from an ivy league school, work on issues that are way too serious, was born in a revolutionary country, which my parents left when I was a child, married to a man who is also from a country that underwent revolution (his father was arrested on several occasions before and after the rev., my dad had to work in a labor camp when he was labeled anti-revolutionary). Went through all the stress and pain of infertility... So trashy escapism... BRING IT ON!!! Life is serious enough I need me some "happy endings". :)

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    Replies
    1. Yes, many a time I've been reading in a cafe on my iPad, and pleased people can't see what book it is!

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  10. I very much love this list and the thought behind it stating everything we ARE :-) Great positive focus!

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  11. love this list and I think I am going to copy you on this one :)

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